North Kent College is a further education and

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

college in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

founded in 2014. Its campus in

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated populat ...

offers numerous courses and qualifications at many levels, from GCSEs and A-levels to vocational routes such as BTEC or NVQ/VRQ Diplomas to work-based apprenticeships and degree programmes, validated by the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

University of Greenwich , mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve" , former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992) , established = , type = Public university , budget = £214.9 million (2020) , administrative_staff = , chancel ...

and Canterbury Christ Church University. The College's facilities include a 300-seat theatre, fine art, fashion, graphic design and photography studios and darkrooms, television and radio studios, music recording studios, professional training and demo kitchens and purpose-built motor vehicle engineering and construction workshops.

History

The original West Kent College institution operated in Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough and Sevenoaks. The Tonbridge campus was redeveloped in the 2000s. Crowborough and Sevenoaks closed in 2006. It merged into

K College K College, was also known as South & West Kent College, was an English college of Further Education and Higher Education with facilities across Kent, formed in April 2010, by the merger of South Kent College with West Kent College. In 2014 i ...

in 2010.

operated across 6 campuses, at Jemmett Road and Henwood in Ashford, Dover, Folkestone,

and

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

. It was subsequently split in 2014, after sustaining a large amount of debt. It was split into two units from 1 August that year: *

Hadlow College Hadlow College is a further and higher education college in Hadlow, Kent, England, with a satellite site in Greenwich. The curriculum primarily covers land-based subjects including Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation and Wildlife Managem ...

Group took over the Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells campuses as "West Kent College" and Ashford campus as "

Ashford College Ashford College is a further education college in Ashford, Kent founded in August 2014. It has been run by EKC Group since April 2020, when it was acquired from the West Kent and Ashford College corporation. Susan Bonett became Principal of the ...

" *

East Kent College East Kent College is a further education college (although also provides higher education courses) located in Broadstairs, Kent on the southeast coast of the United Kingdom. The main campus is located on Ramsgate Road, Broadstairs. In Septembe ...

took over Folkestone and Dover. On 17 May 2019, Hadlow College become the first in the country to go into educational

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

. That same year, following a review by the Further Education Commissioner, it was recommended that the Hadlow College Group be split up and taken on by three colleges: North Kent College,

Group and

Capel Manor College __NOTOC__ Capel Manor College is a special environmental college located in Enfield, London. The College has six campuses across the capital, Brooks Farm (Leyton), Crystal Palace Park, Enfield, Gunnersbury Park, Mottingham and Regent’s Park. ...

. On the 15th August 2020, the education-related facilities of West Kent College and

, including Princess Christian’s Farm and Hadlow College's equestrian centre in Greenwich, transferred to North Kent College.

Courses

The college offers a range of Foundation, Extended and BTEC Diplomas, A Levels, Higher Education programmes and NVQs, in subjects such as: * Electronic Engineering * Catering and Hospitality * Construction: Bricklaying, Electrical Installation, Carpentry and Joinery, Plumbing * Performing Arts, Music, Media and Photography * Art and Design, Graphic Design, Fashion and Clothing * Motor Vehicle Engineering * Information Technology * Beauty Therapy, Hair Design * Early Years and Health and Social Care * Business and Admin * Applied Science (including Forensic Science Pathway) * Sport * Travel and Tourism * ESOL

Notable alumni

Marcus Dillistone Marcus Dillistone is a British film director. A close friend of Sir John Mills, he directed the BBC/Carlton documentary of Mills' life, ''Sir John Mills' Moving Memories''. Dillistone and Mills first collaborated on Dillistone's film ''The Troo ...

Royal premiered film director and Music Producer Athens 2004 Olympic Ceremonies. *

Jonathan Shaw (politician) Jonathan Rowland Shaw (born 3 June 1966) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Chatham and Aylesford from 1997 to 2010. He also served in the Government as the Minister for Disabled People from 2008 to ...

, British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford, now CEO of

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Mark Sargeant Mark Sargeant (born August 1973) is an English chef and restaurateur from Larkfield, Kent. Early life Born in Kent, Sargeant grew up in Larkfield, Kent and attended Oakwood Park Grammar School in Maidstone. From an early age, Sargeant's i ...

, Michelin starred chef and restaurateur * Ron Thornton, Emmy-winning visual effects designer, supervisor, producer and co-founder of

Foundation Imaging Foundation Imaging was a CGI visual effects studio, computer animation studio, and post-production editing facility. History The company was founded by Paul Beigle-Bryant and Ron Thornton. It pioneered digital imaging for television programming ...

, whose work featured in Doctor Who, various Star Trek series, Blakes 7,

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tele ...

, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and films including

Real Genius ''Real Genius'' is a 1985 American comic science fiction film directed by Martha Coolidge and written by Neal Israel, Pat Proft, and PJ Torokvei. Starring Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret, the film, set on the campus of Pacific Tech, a science ...

Commando (1985 film) ''Commando'' is a 1985 American action film directed by Mark L. Lester and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Alyssa Milano, Vernon Wells, Bill Duke and Dan Hedaya. The film was released in the United States on October 4, 1985. The ...

Critters (film) ''Critters'' is a 1986 American science fiction comedy horror film directed by Stephen Herek in his directorial debut, and co-written with Domonic Muir. It stars Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Billy "Green" Bush and Scott Grimes in his film de ...

Robot Jox ''Robot Jox'' is a 1990 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Mecha science fiction film, science-fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson and Paul Koslo. Co-written by scien ...

and Spaceballs *

James Tanner James Tanner is an English chef and television personality, best known for co-owning the Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth and cooking on various TV programmes. In 1999, Tanner and his brother Chris set up Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth. Sinc ...

, chef *

Jake West Jake West (born 1972) is a British film director, known mostly for his horror films and for a series of documentaries looking at film censorship and interviewing well-known directors, actors and industry figures. Biography West's first feature f ...

, film director *

Mo Abudu Mosunmola Abudu, also known as ''Mo Abudu'', (born 11 September 1964), is a Nigerian media mogul, philanthropist, and former human resources management consultant. She has been described by Forbes as "Africa's Most Successful Woman", and rated ...

, talk show host and media proprietor *

Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III. She grew u ...

Jilly Goolden Jill Priscilla Goolden (born 28 September 1949) is an English wine critic, journalist and television personality. Career For 18 years Goolden co-presented the popular BBC2 ''Food and Drink'' television series in Britain, with Chris Kelly, Mic ...

, wine critic, journalist and presenter *

Tim Garland Tim Garland (born 19 October 1966) is a British jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His compositions draw from modern jazz and classical concert music. Career Garland was born in Ilford, Essex and grew up in Canterbury, Kent. He starte ...

, jazz saxophonist who has collaborated with Chick Corea and

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

Hazel Crowney Hazel Crowney, also spelt as Hazel Croney, is a British model and film actress who has appeared in many ad campaigns and some Bollywood films. Early life Crowney was born in London, United Kingdom, to English parents Karin and Phil Crowney. she ...

, actress, model *

Nicki French Nicki is a given name, and may refer to: Film and television * Nicki Aycox (1975-2022), American actress best known for her roles as Syl on the series ''Dark Angel'' and Stella Vessey on the dramedy ''Ed'' * Nicki Chapman (born 1967), English tel ...

, singer, actress *

Jake Hill Jake Hill (born 22 February 1994) is a British racing driver who is currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship in 2022 for Rokit MB Motorsport with West Surrey Racing BMW 330e M Sport. He has also driven for Team HARD, Rob Aus ...

, racing driver *Robert Smith, racing driver

References

External links

West Kent College
{{Universities and colleges in South East England Further education colleges in Kent Higher education colleges in England Educational institutions established in 2014 2014 establishments in England Tonbridge Tonbridge and Malling